Game #25 - Mercer Bears (SoCon Game of the Week)

Who: Mercer Bears

Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
When: Saturday, February 10, 2023
Time: 3 pm
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV/Video: ESPN+ / Nexstar
Live Stats: Live Stats
Enrollment: 9,024
Nickname: Bears
Colors: Black and Orange

Head Coach: Greg Gary begins his fifth season leading the Mercer men’s program in 2023-24. Gary’s squads have recorded 65 wins in his first four seasons. The 51 wins earned in his first three seasons are the most by any coach in school history.

Gary's Record at Mercer: 73-70 (fifth season)

Gary's Record vs. WCU: 6-7

Gray's Record vs. ETSU: 4-2

Mercer Current Record: 11-13 overall, 7-5 home, 3-7 away, 1-1 neutral, 4-7 SoCon.
Mercer Last Season's Record: 14-19 overall, 7-7 home, 4-10 away, 3-2 neutral, 6-12 SoCon.

The Series:  Western owns a 15-13 overall record against the Mercer Bears. The Cats are 7-3 in the last ten games vs. Mercer and are 8-3 in games played in Cullowhee.  The Cats have won 4 of the last 5 games and come into this game riding a three-game winning streak with the Bears.  

Saturday's game is the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week with an over-the-air broadcast on the Nexstar family of stations 

#The Bears are led by redshirt senior forward Jalyn McCreary at 15.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, ranking eighth and 17th in the SoCon, respectively. He is also tied for third in the conference with 1.5 steals per game and sixth with an average of 1.2 blocks per contest. Freshman forward Jake Davis (9.8 ppg) and grad transfer Robby Carmody (9.5 ppg) are just below the 10-point threshold. Under fifth-year head coach Greg Gary, the Bears were picked sixth in the preseason SoCon coaches poll and were tagged seventh in the media tabulation, recording one of the 17 first-place votes."

Mercer Comes into the game riding a two-game conference win streak, with victories over VMI and Furman, both in the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena in Macon. The Bears are 2-3 in conference road games so far this season.